Dispenser



July 3, 1956 E. WELLCOME DISPENSER Filed May 29, 1952 INVENTOR. 1705587 5 14 544 coma BY V W MW

ATTORNEYS United States Patent DISPENSER Hubert E. Wellcome, Fairfield, Conn. Application May 29, 1952, Serial No. 290,649 r 6 (Ilaims. (Cl. 2l)659) This invention relates to wire coil assemblies or dispensing packages and particularly to an arrangement from which the wire can be drawn at a relatively high delivery speed without involving development of torsional stress or kinks in the wire after it has been delivered from the package.

When metal wire cable is coiled and the wire is payed out axially from the coil, or without relative rotation of the coil and wire, there is a tendency for the wire to snarl and to have a twist placed therein. This is particularly true when the cable is relatively large and inflexible, for example, in the range of /2 diameter and over. For some purposes, wire cable must be delivered from a coil rapidly, such as in military activities of various types: one example of such a use would be for releasing a parachute from a moving airplane for trailing astern thereof, in order to reduce speed. Other uses may require delivery at speeds in excess of 100 ft. per second.

Previous arrangements have not been entirely satisfactory and have resulted in snarling and kinking upon delivery, such kinking frequently causing failure of the wire.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an improved wire coil dispensing package which can be arranged to pay out the wire rapidly without snarling or kinking.

Another object of the invention is to provide a wire coil package which will pay out only after a predetermined force has been exerted thereon.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved manner of producing a wire coil dispensing package.

In one aspect of the invention, the wire can be wound onto an interior support in such a way as to place a twist in the wire opposite to that which it would receive if drawn from the coil without relative rotation of the wire and coil. A cover can be arranged to be placed over the coiled Wire on the interior support, the interior support having cut away portions through which the ends of the wire extend. The cover may have inturned end flanges extending exteriorly of and at least partially over the ilanges at the ends of the interior support. The interior support can be made of such metal and dimensions that a predetermined force must be exerted on the extending ends of the wire before the support yields to permit the wire to be withdrawn from the package when required.

The winding of the wire onto the interior support can be carried out, for example, in the manner described in applicants co-pending application, Serial No. 242,733, filed August 20, 1951, now Patent No. 2,709,553.

Other objects, advantages and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description and drawings, which are merely exemplary.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is an end view.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. l.

The invention will be described in conjunction with its use for a wire cable which must be retained in a package the interior support 1d.

2,753,042 Patented July 3, 1956 or coil until a predetermined force is exerted on the cable. The dispensing package will then permit the wire to be Withdrawn or uncoiled in an unsnarled and unkinked condition Without torsional stress in the delivered wire, the Wire leaving the coil in an untwisted and relaxed condition.

Interior support 10 can be made of suitable metal, for example aluminum, which can be formed by spinning or any suitable forming operation. T he interior support or bushing has flanges ll, 12 thereon, with cut-out portions 13 and 14, through which the ends l5, 16 of the wire cable 17 extend. The cut-out portions may be opposite to each other as illustrated, or may be staggered relative to each other. in the form shown, wire 17 has connector elements 18 and T9 mounted thereon in any suitable manner, the connector elements being chosen as needed or the wire formed as required.

As mentioned, the wire cable is wound onto interior support it} in such a manner that a twist is. placed therein which is opposite to that which will be developed as the wire is uncoiled. This will be, for example, approximately one turn for each convolution of the coil. The wirein the coil is in an elastically deformed condition, the angle of the torsional deformation being approximately the same for each of the convolutions of the coil. The wire is of metal, such as steel or bronze, and should have a sulficiently high elastic limit or yield point for the purposes for which it is to be The deformation, of course, must be within the elastic limit of the material involved and the coil diameter must be such that the wire will not take a permanent set.

One method for determining the minimum coil diameter is by use of the formula:

wherein D is the diameter of the smallest convolution of the coil, E is Youngs modulus, of is the outside diameter of the individual wire, and S is the tensile strength of the material within its elastic limit.

When the aforementioned equation is satisfied, the wire can be coiled and twisted to produce a coil without a permanent set. The equation theoretically concerns closely wound coils, but modification for coils and spacing up to 10 wire diameters is relatively slight.

After the coil has been wound upon the interior support 110 in the manner just described, cover 249 with inturned flanges 21, 22 can be assembled to the support. This may be accomplished, for example, by turning the flanges of the cover by spinning or any suitable metal working operation, after the cover is assembled on the support. Also, one flange can be formed before the cover is assembled on the support. It is to be noted that the metal of the cover 20 may be made slightly heavier or may be stronger than Merely by way of example, the interior support 16 may be of aluminum and the casing or cover 24 of soft steel.

In one use of the dispenser, the ends 18 and 19 of the cable may be connected respectively to the equipment with Which the dispenser is to be used. Then, when a predetermined force is exerted on the wire cable, such as by the opening of a parachute, the flanges of the interior support or the support will be deformed so that the wire can be withdrawn from the interior of the coil in a substantially torsional free condition. Merely by way of ex ample, the parts can be arranged so that a force of pounds is required.

The slots or cut-outs preferably should be slightly wider than the cable diameter. The flanges should be made such that at least one will release or straighten out and permit the Wire to be delivered inwardly and uncoiled, and the cover preferably should be strong enough so that it will not change shape. In the preferred form, the flange of the interior support is deformed. Whereas a cylindrical dispenser package is preferable, it should be apparent that it does not have to be exactly cylindrical and that other equivalent shapes can be used.

Merely by way of example, a dispenser package for a A2" diameter aircraft quality cable, 7 x 19, with a break ing strength of 22,800 pounds, may be wound on an interior aluminum support of approximately 4%" in diameter, a steel cover having an outside diameter of 6", assembled therewith.

The degree of twist put into the wire as it is coiled depends on the diameter of the coil, the wire diameter, how closely the helix is wound, and upon the metal of the wire. These factors must all be considered in producing the coil so as not to have a permanent set condition exist. In general the condition will be satisfied if the torsional deformation is kept within the elastic limit of the wire.

It should be apparent that variations can be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit of the invention except as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is: v

1. A metal wire cable dispensing coil package adapted to have wire payed out from the coil at high speed with out relative rotation of the wire and the coil, said package comprising a flanged interior support for the wire cable extending longitudinally the length of said package, said support having cut-out portions for receiving end portions of the wire cable coil on the support, said support being yieldable when delivery of wire cable from the coil is required so that wire cable can be delivered from the interior of the coil, a wire cable wound on said support, said cable having a twist in each convolution therein opposite in direction to the twist developed as the wire is delivered from said support, the twist being within the yield point of the metal of the cable, and a cover carried by said support and having inturned flanged end portions and cooperating with said support to hold the coil until delivery thereof in substantially twist-free condition is required.

2. A metal wire cable dispensing coil package adapted to have wire payed out from the coil at high speed without relative rotation of the wire and the coil, said package comprising a flanged interior support for the wire cable, said support having cut-out portions adjacent the flange portion for receiving end portions of the wire cable coil on the support and holding the same, said support adjacent said cut-out portions being yieldable when delivery of wire cable from the coil is required so that wire cable can be delivered from the interior of the coil, a wire cable wound on said support, said cable having a twist in each convolution therein opposite in direction to the twist developed as the wire is delivered from said support, the twist being within the yield point of the metal of the cable, and a cover carried by said support and having flanged portions cooperating with the flanged portions of said support to hold the coil until delivery thereof in substantially twist-free condition is required.

3. A metal wire cable coil dispensing package adapted to have wire payed out from the coil at high delivery speed without relative rotation of the wire and the coil comprising an interior support having out-turned flange portions, the support having cable cut-outs for receiving the cable and holding the coil until a predetermined delivery force is exerted on the portion of the wire cable outside of the package, a wire cable wound on said support in a relatively small diameter coil, said cable having a twist in each convolution therein opposite in direction to the twist developed in the wire cable as it is delivered from the package, the twist being within the yield point of the metal of the cable, and a cover element mounted on the support and having flange portions juxtopositioned with the support flange portions so as to hold the coil until delivery thereof is required.

4. A metal wire cable coil dispensing package adapted to have wire payed out from the coil at high delivery speed without relative rotation of the wire and the coil comprising an interior support having out-turned flange portions, the support having cable cut-outs in the flange portions for receiving the cable and holding the coil until a predetermined delivery force is exerted on the portion of the wire cable outside of the package, a wire cable wound on said support in a single layer relatively small diameter coil, said cable having a twist in each convolution therein opposite in direction to the twist developed in the wire cable as it is delivered from the package, the twist being within the yield point of the metal of the cable, and a cover element mounted on the support and having in-turned flange portions overlying the support flange portions so as to hold the coil until delivery thereof is required.

5. A metal wire cable coil dispensing package adapted to have wire payed out from the coil at high delivery speed without relative rotation of the wire and the coil comprising an interior support having out-turned flange portions, the support having cable cut-outs in the flange portions for receiving the cable and holding the coil until a predetermined delivery force is exerted on the portion of the wire cable outside of the package, a wire cable wound on said support in a single layer relatively small diameter coil, the coil conforming to the relationship said cable having a twist in each convolution therein opposite in direction to the twist developed in the wire cable as it is delivered from the package, the twist being within the yield point of the metal of the cable, and a cover element mounted on the support and having inturned flange portions overlying the support flange portions so as to hold the coil until delivery thereof is required.

6. In an assembly for packaging a wire cable elongated coil, the coil having a twist in each convolution opposite in direction to the twist developed in the wire cable as it is delivered from the package, the combination comprising a cover element having inturned flanged end portions, said cover element having an interior diameter approximately that of the coil, and an interior support means having flanged ends adapted to nest within the inturned ends of the cover, the flanged ends having cut-out portions to receive and hold Wire cable, the support being yieldable upon a predetermined pull on wire cable held thereby.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,539,825 Bodwell June 2, 1925 1,541,683 Buehler June 9, 1925 1,596,851 Curry Aug. 17, 1926 1,756,771 Watson et al. Apr. 29, 1930 2,552,594 Scott May 15, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 182,574 Great Britain July 7, 1922 745,997 France Feb. 27, 1933 936,903 France Feb. 23, 1948 

